MY LIFE IS A RAINBOW!
by chocolate87
Summary: A Girl's house burned down straight to the ground, and she is seeking a new place to live, someone who she can love and stay with. Her mom loved to compare life with rainbows, "When you are still young, you haven't gotten to the highest point of your rainbow!" She may say, but the Girl feels like she left her rainbow, gone. Now she needs a few people to carry her back home.
1. Chapter 1

The fire cackled, and my skin burned from the heat. My suitcase didn't have food, and I didn't know how long I could last. _They are gone. Burnt. Ashes. _I thought. _Gone. Burnt. Ashes._ Those words repeated over and over. _Gone. Burnt. Ashes. _I lost my house. Gone. Burnt. Ashes. I lost my family. Gone. Burnt. Ashes.

"Are you sure?" I asked the firefighter, my voice trembling.

"Dead as dead could be." He sighed. "Look, do you have anyone to go to?"

I shook my head.

"Aunts? Cousins? Grandparents?" He asked.

I shook my head. My heart ached terribly from my loss. I had one burnt hand, but it was nothing compared to my heart. I swallowed back my tears, and sighed.

The sun started to peak out over the mountains. _I hate the sun made of fire! I hate it!_ I thought angrily.

I remembered what my Ma told me, _"Life is like a rainbow, you're walking on it, and it's so big and shining, and very colorful. You never know what will happen to it!" _She loved to relate life to rainbows. But right now, I feel like my rainbow cracked, and shattered beneath my feet.

"My mom," The firefighter hesitated. "My mom is single right now. Maybe she could…" His voice trailed off. "She could temporarily take care of you until I find somewhere else."

"Why so hesitant? What's wrong?" I asked, knowing that when someone talks about someone else adopting you and they are very hesitant, there is a catch.

"Um, she is a little, well, stern, serious, um…" He sighed. "Call her ma'am, and you better do as she says."

"Ok," I said. I remember my ma always let me call her anything, she'd also bake cookies, and hug me to great me. I hope this lady is like my ma.

"I'll send you there right now." The firefighter motioned me to go into his car.

I grabbed my suitcase, and hopped in.

I felt a part of me was lost, not just my burnt hand, but also my soul. "What about my hand?" I asked.

"Oh, um, yeah, it's pretty badly burnt."

I realized there was nothing to big to worry about. This lady would be fine, this guy always hesitate.

During the car ride, I silently stared out the window. The firefighter hummed to the radio, trying to get me to hum to, but that never happened. The car ride was long, boring, and silent. Eventually the firefighter stopped humming, turned off the radio, and drove on, plunging us into total silence. All that passed us were trees, cars, houses, and restaurants. I yawned 10 times before we arrived to our destination.

The firefighter got out off the car, and opened my car door, escorting me out.

"Bye, hope you get over your loss. I really feel bad for you." The firefighter led me out of the car. "Um, I hope this is, uh, the right house." He knocked on the door.

A lady dressed in gray appeared at the door. Her hair was in a tight bun, her eyes gloomy gray, pale lips, _paler_ skin; everything about her was gloomy and black and white. "What?" She hissed. "Oh, hello son, what do you have with you, another cursed, evil, demon?" Her voice was ice cold.

"Hello, what is your name?' I ask, sticking out a hand. Then I remembered what firefighter told me. "Ma'am,"

"My name is classified, now you go to the horse stables, and get yourself comfortable in a stall. The one in the very far end has less manure." Grey Lady growled.

"Mom, do you have anything better for this young lady? Her family and house and everything she had owned or remembered burned in a fire."

"Oh, boo hoo, at least I am giving her anything at all!" Grey Lady snarled.

"Um, yes mother, I respect you for that. Bye, um, I love you." The firefighter smiled uneasily.

"Oh grow up! And why did you have to be a firefighter, Mill? That job is plain old boring and stupid!" Grey Lady cried.

"No, it isn't. Remember when your kitchen stove caught on fire? Who saved you?" Mill bit his lip.

"I didn't need any help!" Grey Lady snapped.

"Yes, mother, right." Mill said, and hurried into his car.

"Go into the stables, NOW!" Grey Lady marched away.

I growled angrily, and marched into the stables with an angry stormy cloud over my head. The only smell was horse poop, no horse smell or wood, just poop. But Grey Lady was right; the smell wasn't as strong in the back. I plopped my stuff down in the stall with the faintest smell of poop, and thought about my family. What's worse was that the fire happened on the day the baby was expected. My mom was pregnant, and I've always wanted a baby sister, but I can't have any now.

I hugged my knees, and blew hair out of my eyes. A great way to start off a day! I sat and sat and sat, wishing my rainbow would grow back. I just sat, and waited for supper.

Grey Lady returned an hour later than my regular supper with soup.

"Why did it take so long?" I asked, instantly regretting what I said. "Ma'am"

"I have to have MY dinner to!" Grey Lady snapped impatiently, and stomped back to her house, slamming the door.

I sighed, and finished my soup. It was cold and mushy. It was raw, soft, green beans in water with a lump of sugar floating around. It tasted too bitter, too sweet, and it made you feel full when you still need more to eat.

I found a bed in the corner. Grey Lady must've made this the guest room or something, but the bed was the least stinky thing in the stable, and it smelled like a skunk's spray. I flopped on my back on it, and felt a sharp jab up my back. It felt like metal, nothing at all like a soft mattress, so I ended up sleeping on a pile of hay in the corner.

I felt more than sure my rainbow is completely gone, nothing left. I sighed again, and started tossing and turning on the hay. I had a hard time sleeping, the bitter and cold wind blowing hard in my face, it was NOTHING near comfy. I gritted my teeth to keep myself warmer, and took as little and small breaths as possible to keep out the skunk-like smell. I stop gritting my teeth, and they started chattering. I noticed a huge hole with only faded, old, gray curtains to keep the heat in, and they aren't doing a good job. Either Grey Lady is bad at house furnishing and has a terrible taste in style, or she is trying to torture me.

The howl of the wind hurt my ears, and to top that, the wind was also burning my ears off. The constant neigh of horses kept me up the whole night, and crickets' chirp was chirping in my ears. I feel so bad for my poor, aching, ears.

If a guest came over to my house, they would get a room with lavenders decorated everywhere for the look and smell. My family would laugh and cheer with them, and make them feel welcome. Grey Lady does just the opposite.

I took off my jacket, and cover myself with it, and found a whole to ton jackets in my suitcase, and used them to cover my whole body, including my head to block out the smell. I wanted to cry myself to sleep, and that was exactly what I did.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up, foolish girl!" Grey Lady's sharp, harsh words had awoken me.

I awoke to find myself on the metal bed. No doubt, Grey Lady put me there. I groaned, finding out my back ached from the hard metal.

"This bed will give you a perfect and straight spine like mine!" Grey Lady scowled.

"And an aching one," I muttered softly so Grey Lady wouldn't hear.

"Go and clean my room!" Grey Lady ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" I said, and hurried to her room. Her house was nice and big. I walked through the long hallways, and it took me a while until I found her room. I entered, and felt her soft bed, her room smelled nice, and the beds were softer than clouds. I sighed in comfort of the lovely beds, and started cleaning. I hated Grey Lady more than anything, more than I hate yesterday's supper. I dusted, swept, cleaned, wiped, everything I could remember from my mom cleaning. I remember my mom's swift movements when cleaning, and her special clothes for cleaning. Afterwards, she would eat a little snack she made, soft brownies, delicious cupcakes or cakes, creamy cinnamon rolls, so much she had, and she always shared. As I was done cleaning, I came back to the stalls for breakfast, and I got the same thing from yesterday's supper.

"Pardon me ma'am, but what is this called?" I asked politely. I surely wasn't in the mood to get into trouble.

"Beans 'n' Sugar. Now eat up!" Grey Lady snapped, and walked away.

I poked at it, and started eating. Beans 'n' Sugar tasted so bad, I gagged a few times. I couldn't wait for Mill to find an orphanage or something. I felt like crying again, I felt like my rainbow didn't leave me, but I left my rainbow. It seemed like I jumped off my rainbow. I felt like when I started jumping off, I had so much fun and excitement, and near the end, I felt sad and worried, which is what I feel like right now. And now I'm waiting for the right bird to swoop down, and carry me home. I started to cry just then, when I realized whenever I feel happy and loved, my mouth twitch into a smile. I haven't felt that in a very long time, and I started to cry harder. I didn't care if Grey Lady came, and yelled at me to hush up, I was in my own world, and why should I listen to her? Is it because she has so much power? Is it because she is so mean?

Just then, after I've been crying for what felt like forever, Grey Lady did come, with a leather belt with a metal end. "You shut up or I'll whip you!" Grey Lady screamed.

I tried my best to stop, and my cries became softer, until the crying stopped all together and I was just breathing very hard.

"Mill knows this orphanage, and he got them started on paperwork yesterday. You'll be sent there tomorrow. It feels good to get rid of you." Grey Lady huffed.

I was to relived to even speak. A chance to get rid of Grey Lady is a chance no one could pass up. Although I didn't know why the last sentence she said made me sadder then before.

"Yes ma'am." I said, and started playing with the little stack of hay. The wind seemed to be blowing softer and warmer air. I breathed in the air, which became sweeter with the lilacs growing outside. "Good-bye, ma'am."

Grey Lady growled. "Never say good-bye when you aren't going away right that moment." She said in an icy cold voice.

"Yes ma'am." I said flatly. I couldn't wait to go to the orphanage. I wanted the orphanage to be the place where I could call home. I could say, "I'm home!" and feel safe and cozy. I wanted consequences if I do something bad, but nothing to big. I want my mouth to twitch and go into a smile very often, and I want love. I wanted to be picked up, and carried back to my rainbow, but that may take 5 birds to do that. The sun started setting as I was thinking about all this, so I rested my arms on the bottom of the hole, and peered outside. A gentle gust of wind blew across my face, not like last night when it froze me half to death. I watched the sun slowly set until only a small speck of a red dot was left.

_I forgive you sun,_ I thought. _I forgive you._


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up on the stack of hay. Grey Lady didn't move me!

I ate the breakfast of beans 'n' sugar Grey Lady gave me, and then I got dressed, got my stuff, and walked onto Grey Lady's front porch.

Mill's car was pulled up, and he waved kindly to me. "Come on! I found an orphanage!"

"I know! Grey…err, your mom told me!" I smiled, and walked down the hill, and got into Mill's car.

"How was, um, your stay?" Mill scratched his head.

"Not as I expected," I replied, and got into the car.

Mill started humming to the radio again, and I continued thinking about what the orphanage was going to be like. I hoped it wouldn't be ANYTHING like my stay at Grey Lady.

For once I realized the sudden blueness of the sky with the stretchy clouds in the sky. After the cold, dark stables, the sky had a sudden burst of color. The trees were also very… green. The trees stood out, and so did the sky. They both popped out, and blended in at the same time. I sighed at the beauty, and rested my elbow on the window with my head resting on top.

Mill stopped humming after an hour past, and he stopped the car. "We're here!" He looked back at me. "Hope you'll have a good time!"

I grabbed my suitcase, and walked out of the car. "Bye, Mill!" I waved.

"Bye!" He waved back, and drove off.

A huge building stood in front of me.

A Home With Love,

A Children's Orphanage

The sign on top of the entrance read. 4 pillars held a triangle shaped roof, and there were endless amount of stairs to climb. I climbed up the stairs, (which took forever!) and entered Home With Love.

The Home With Love smelled like a warm pastry, and the air was warm, not to hot, not to cold. In the center of the huge room was a marble circle with a baby in the middle. The floor was a soft, fancy red rug.

A woman wearing a deep blue skirt and a pink, rosy short-sleeved shirt came and smiled at me. She wore red high heels like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. "Hello young lady. Welcome to the Home With Love." Her voice was sweet and sounded like she was singing a song. "I'm Rebecca, nice to meet you!"

"Hi, Rebecca." I said politely, trying to sound happy, which I wasn't. I was still off my rainbow.

"You can sleep in Girls Room 11. We have so many kids these days that we need more sleeping rooms! But we can't put the boys and girls in the same room, can we?" Rebecca laughed.

"Yes." I said dully.

Rebecca led me to 2 stairs in the back of the room curving together making circle to a skinny raised platform. The stairs had glossy, wooden handles with the top half coated with a shiny gold. I surely needed the handles because I was feeling sick and queasy from the ride and the breakfast Grey Lady gave me.

At the top of the circle stairs were millions on doors.

"On the left is the boys' bedroom, and on the right is the girls' bedroom. You can find room 11 and get settled." Rebecca smiled, and escorted me to girls 11. "Have a good time!" She chirped.

The moment she left and closed the door, a girl came out from under the covers of the beds.

"Hello!" A girl with glasses and pigtails greeted me. "Welcome to Home With Love which has a whole ton of love!"

I gave her a fake smile, and got onto an empty bed to start to get settled. Well, at least I THOUGHT it was empty. As I sat down, someone jumped out from under the covers, which sent me flying to the ground flat on my face.

"Kim! This is the new kid!" Pigtails girl cried, running over to help me up.

"I know, pea brain!" Kim snarled. "Don't have to remind me!"

Kim looked at me as I got up. "What's up with you, fish breath?"

"Ignore her." Pigtails girl said.

"Shut up!" Kim snapped. She looked at me with an expression on her face. Was it jealousy? Did her rainbow sink too?

Another girl with lots of bracelets came, and stopped walking as soon as she saw me. "Whoa, your… pretty." She said.

"Um…" I said uneasily. I was kind of used to that, though, with my clear tan skin, silky, smooth, shiny brown hair, thin eyebrows, long eyelashes, and half emerald green and half sea blue eyes. If you thought I had different colored eyes, I don't. I just have those eyes, which in each eye has both green and blue,

"No, she's not," Kim huffed.

"What do you think, Lily?" Bracelet girl asked.

"She's pretty, pretty." Pigtail girl, which I realized is Lily, replied.

"Um, yeah." I said, and walked over to another empty bed. I unpacked, and walked out of girls' room 11.

I went around, walking and looking, and finally found Rebecca. "Hey, can I go out for some fresh air?" I asked.

"Sure! Out the back door!" Rebecca replied.

I found the back door, and walked out. I sure didn't want to stay here. This was as bad as the stay at Grey Lady's. I sat on a chair in front of the outdoor pool, and looked at the sky. There were sounds of chirping birds, rustling of tree leaves, and then screaming.

"Minnie! How many times did I tell you about watching T.V for fun? ONLY FOR EDUCATION!" The screaming sounded like it came from the baker's house. I saw a bakery next door with a house attached to it.

A little soft voice started talking, and then more booming shouts.

"Now talking back?" I heard whacking, a door opening, and slamming shut.

I was instantly awake, and then a few boys in the pool told me, "Don't worry about that! It's normal." They said it like you hear it everyday, everywhere.

"You sure?" I asked. An uneasy feeling covered my whole body.

"Yeah." One boy said.

"Ok," I sank down into my chair, and then hurried back inside.

I looked for something, ANYTHING, to get me away from this chaos.

"Dinner!" A singing voice sang from the loudspeaker.

Oh great, now I have to go into a room with everyone in this orphanage. I made a quick mental note to runaway later. I really hated this place and I haven't even been here for a full day.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, you better not break any of the Rules For Boredom or Mrs. Jack would kill you." Bracelet girl warned me. I decided to sit next to her during dinner because she seemed to know everything about this place.

"What is the Rules For Boredom? Who is Mrs. Jack? And what's your name?" I asked as we sat down at a wooden table.

"Oh, sorry! I'm…" Bracelet girl started, but then everyone, I mean EVERYONE, looked up from their soup and shushed her with a loud, "SHHH!"

"I'm Nicky, short for Nicollet! Mrs. Jack is the headmaster, beware!" Bracelet girl whispered.

"Oh," I said.

"And the rules are very strict. But first, there is always a guard at night for runaways. He's the Guard's Gary. Gary is so fast and sneaky, and tough. He's so fast that he could out run anything! The rules are, no slurping, burping, farting, yelling, dancing, loud sounds, laughing, giggling, note passing, rumor spreading, kissing, hugging, flirting, winking, sign language, cursing, speaking in foreign languages, showing off…" Nicky started, but a large woman tapped her shoulder.

"And no talking." She said coldly, but not as cold as Grey Lady.

"Yes, Mrs. Jack." Nicky winced.

"Come with me, NOW!" Mrs. Jack boomed.

I looked around and saw that everyone was trembling in fear, everyone but me. I was so calm and cool compared to everyone else in the room because I was stuck with Grey Lady for 3 days.

Nicky had a frightened look on her face. Her eyes were wide and big, her skin pale, and the constant biting of her lips showed she was scared. She mouthed the words, "Help me,"

"She can't do much," I mouthed back. I shrugged showing that I can't do much.

Nicky didn't seem to mind about that, though. Mrs. Jack carried her out of the room, and the room was suddenly quiet. No one even clanged their spoons on the bowl or slurp. The only fly here didn't make any noises either. There was not even the sound of breathing children. A heavy silence stilled the room. I wasn't use to this silence, like no one else existed.

I ate my soup like everyone else, and as the bell rang, I was glad to no I wasn't deaf. I quickly cleaned up my area, and went back up to my room.

"This isn't the first time Nicky got in trouble!" Kim snorted. "She is so stupid sometimes, just like Lily!"

My head started bubbling with anger with Kim when she said the last sentence. Nicky and Lily was the only people who were nice to me since I came! (Not including Rebecca, she was a little TOO nice!)

"Not true," I said coolly, trying not to let my anger show.

Lucky for me, Nicky came back right then. If she didn't, I would've started yelling at Kim

"What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing." Nicky waved me off. I knew for sure that wasn't true. I saw bruises and cuts on her legs and arms. It wasn't there before dinner.

"You got the baker's dozen!" Kim sneered.

"Shut up, Kim!" I yelled.

Kim started sulking, and sank into her bed.

"Yeah, I did." Nicky confessed.

"What's the baker's dozen?" I asked. Nothing here made sense to me.

"It's when Mrs. Jack grabs you, and carry you to the baker's house, and he, um, attacks you. Then he may whip you with that horrible leather belt with the metal end." Lily shuddered.

"Oh," I said, and got into my pajamas, and went to bed. I hope this was all a dream, even if it DID mean I would have to wake up in Grey Lady's house next morning.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up, sunlight pouring in through the window. I saw a big lady sitting on my bed with me. I hoped it was Grey Lady, but nope, no such luck.

"You are late! You were supposed to wake up at 6:00!" Mrs. Jack boomed.

"Sorry, ma'am." I said, and rubbed my eyes. It was a SATURDAY! Geez, you even had to wake up early on Saturdays.

"Because of your tardiness, you will not be able to join your peers for breakfast." Mrs. Jack glared at me.

"Yes ma'am." I said. I wasn't going to let this old bundle of meanness get to me.

Mrs. Jack turned on her heels, and stomped away. I actually had to fight the urge to scream, "Stomping isn't polite!"

I had nothing better to do, so I walked outside to the pool. I had to climb down rows and rows of stairs, but I made it. As I got out of the building, I saw a little girl about 7 years old. She was covered with bruises, scars, scratches, scrapes, dried out blood, cuts, and red marks.

"Hello," I said in my sweetest voice. Just by looking at her, I knew she went through a lot.

"Hi," She choked out.

"Who are you?" I asked kindly, kneeling down to reach eye level with her.

"Minnie, the baker's daughter." The girl replied. I was frozen for a second, shocked.

"Oh. Hi Minnie, I'm…" I didn't complete the sentence. My body stood here, but my brain was elsewhere. I didn't know what to expect, the shouting from the day before yesterday, the cuts and bruises the baker made for Nicky, and the whip Lily was talking about. Who knows what else? Does the baker throw rocks at her? Kick her? Slam her onto the floor?

"Yes?" Minnie asked.

"Oh," I said, my brain finally coming back. "Nothing."

Minnie looked disappointed, but I totally forgot what I was saying a few minutes ago, but I think she was asking something.

"I have to go, if my dad finds out I'm talking to a stranger, he would kill me!" Minnie took off to the baker's house.

Stood there, looking at her, and then went back in. I was just in time for the lunch bell. Everyone walked slowly to the diner. I guess it was a rule.

"Hey!" Nicky walked up to me. "What's up?"

"Got kicked out of breakfast," I replied, not really listening. I was still in deep thought about Minnie and her dad.

"What?" Nicky said. "Why?"

"Woke up to late." I replied, still thinking.

"That's all? Well, usually she'd put you in a coffin until it's lunch! You're lucky!" Nicky said.

"Yeah," I replied. It was silent for a while, and then I started talking.

"Anyways," I said, finally done thinking. "Who is Minnie's mom?"

"No one knows. She ran off somewhere. But without her, Rick is so rough and mean to Minnie." Nicky replied.

"Is Rick the baker?" I asked.

"Yeah," Nicky said, and we sat down for lunch.

We were silent through the whole lunch, I wasn't in the mood to get in trouble, and I never really am.

After the deathly silence of lunch, we started chatting again.

"Can Mrs. Jack do anything harmful to you?" I asked.

"Yeah, but what she does only goes for THE bad things like stealing, kidnapping, runaways…" I didn't listen to anything else Nicky said.

_I'm going to run away. What is Mrs. Jack going to do? _I thought. _Oh, brother._

"And, yeah." Nicky said. "It's free time!" She rushed off to her room.

I turned around, and went back to the pool. That area seems like my own thinking area.

As I step foot out of the orphanage, I heard some screaming.

"MINNIE! YOU CRAZY, STUIPID FOOL!" I heard someone yell. Rick. It was Rick.

I had an urge to run to the baker's house. _Don't._ I told myself. _It would only make things worse._ I didn't care. I ran to the baker's house. I didn't know what I was doing, but I was doing it. I was frightened by my sudden care for Minnie. _Don't touch her. Don't touch her._ I chanted those words in my head like the more I said it the less Rick would touch her.

I had no idea why Rick was being so mean to such a little girl. I knocked firmly on the door I heard the yelling coming from, and a big man answered it.

"What?" He said impatiently.

"I'm here for Minnie." I heard myself say.

Rick seemed silent for a moment, and literally, _shoved_ Minnie out the door.

I took Minnie's had firmly in mine, and walked back to the pool. Minnie and I were quiet and silent the whole way.

When we finally reached the pool, I heard Minnie say, "Thank you."

"No problem." I realized why I was so desperate to save Minnie from any beatings. She was like my own little sister, the sister I couldn't have. I ruffled her hair playfully. "Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yes," She giggled. "My papa has a short temper!"

"Yes, he does," I smiled. We looked at each other in silence, but not the bad silence where sadness like to linger heavily in the air, but the silence where happiness is light and good.

"This place is dull and boring, everything is the same." Minnie said, cutting holes into the silence.

I was suddenly struck with an idea. "Nobody says it has to be!" I declared, and dragged Minnie to the storage room.

I grabbed paint cans from the shelves, along with balloons, paintbrushes, and a huge, thick piece of paper. I grabbed some newspapers, and hurried outside, Minnie following close behind. I put the huge piece of paper down, and put newspapers around the edges. Then I filled some colored balloons with its matching colored paint, and gave some to Minnie.

Minnie, who seems to understand what I was doing, grabbed the paint balloon, and threw it at the paper. "This is fun!" She said.

I grabbed mine, and tossed it at the paper. "I know!" I smiled.

We threw balloon after balloon, and soon the whole paper was filled with colored of all sorts.

I grabbed a paintbrush, dipped it in black, and started painting my name in the far top left corner, went to the middle, drew a heart, and put my initials in the heart.

"Draw a heart next to mine with your initials, and in the far, bottom right corner write your name." I instructed.

Minnie did as I told, and we looked at it. It was big, and beautiful. I smiled at Minnie. I realized that Minnie could be one of the birds that could swoop down, and carry me back to my rainbow. "I'll treasure this forever," I told her. "I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

It was time. The moon was full, and a heavy silence stilled the air. I grabbed my suitcase I packed earlier, and quietly tiptoed out the room. This was my chance. If I mess up, I won't have another chance. I opened the door, and gently closed it. I remembered to pack the Balloon Paint picture, and everything. I remembered a sharp, metal knife to, for hunting. I also got a flint rock, and other stuff like a compass, my journal, a pencil, and colored pencils.

My heart was beating so fast. _'Don't mess up now, don't mess up now,'_ my brain repeated over and over. It was my last chance to run. It was my last chance to run away.

I was exited from the craziness for running away. You're timing had to be perfect, you had to be super quiet, and move quickly at the same time. As I ran out the building, out through the door to the pool, I ran into someone. My heart raced up to my mouth, and it was beating extremely fast and hard.

_'Please don't be Mrs. Jack! Please don't be Mrs. Jack!'_ I prayed silently. I guess it worked because as my eyes settled and got used to the darkness, I realized she was to little to be Mrs. Jack.

"Minnie?" I whispered quietly. "What are you doing?"

"My dad kicked me out again. What are you doing?" Minnie asked, not daring to raise her voice louder than mine.

"If you don't tell anyone," I took a deep breath. "I'm running away."

Minnie looked shocked for a second, and then said, "If you are going, take me with you. I can't imagine another long, horrible year without you."

"I'll miss you, but I can't bring you." I said.

"Why not?" Minnie asked.

"It's not safe." I replied.

"I can take care of myself." Minnie said, stubbornly.

I thought about it for a while. _'Minnie would be great company! But she may interfere. She won't, and besides, you would miss her terribly. I would, but she is safer here. Rick? He would calm down one day. She is safer, happier, here, and here her rainbow would stay with her.'_

"Minnie," I said. "You're coming with me."


	7. Chapter 7

Minnie and I darted in the dark, hiding in long, eerie shadows. The full moon shone high up ahead as we made some shadows of our own. There was such a strong silence, not even the small and quiet footsteps of a raccoon or the beating of an owl's wings. The only sound was the soft crunching of our footsteps in the leaves and some squishing in the muddy grass.

We walked in silence for a long while, the moon sending down shadows to copy our every move.

_CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! _Some heavy footsteps that belonged to someone else stepped around.

I put out an arm to stop Minnie. "Shhhh!" I warned. I paused, waiting for more.

"Who's there?" A loud voice boomed. The little light of a flashlight was heading our way. Minnie and I had to squint at the light since our eyes were adjusted to the darkness; the sudden light nearly blinded us.

My heart was beating as fast as a cheetah could run. I held my breath, and squeezed Minnie's hand so hard I saw it turn blue, so I let go. Guard's Gary was here, the fastest animal on the planet.

"Run," I whispered to Minnie. We ran as fast as we could, not even bothering to make sure we were hidden or quiet.

We didn't dare look back, we just ran and ran, until we felt like our legs were going to fall off, felt like our hearts were going to explode, and felt like our lungs would burst. I was extremely hot from all the running, and extremely cold from all the wind in the night, so I was sweating, shivering, and sneezing at the same time.

"Is Guard Gary following us?" Minnie asked in between breaths.

"No," I replied, looking around us. "But I have no clue where we are."

"I know!" Minnie cried. "It's the Willow Well!"

"The what…?" I asked, confused.

"The Willow Well, Nina Luppensaw and I used to go here all the time, when my mom was still here. We climbed in and out of it, we even carved our initials in the stones." Minnie pointed at 2 stones, one red, one white, and carved in very deeply were the letters, _N.L + M.J_ "My last name is Jackson, I always do this with people I dearly love and trust."

"We can't leave each other alone, we are now a family, so my last name shall also be Jackson." I declared.

"Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Little Jackson!" Minnie laughed. "I like it!"

Then, Minnie crouched down, feel the ground carefully for something. "I know it was next to the Willow Well, somewhere…" Minnie's voice trailed off as she patted the ground. "FOUND IT!" She cried in delight. She pointed at a small empty circle surrounded but the cutest, smallest pebbles I've ever seen. In the middle was a short stick poking out from the ground. "Nina and I buried something a while ago, and marked it so when we go off on our own, Nina said I could take it."

"What it is?" I asked.

Minnie was silent, digging, poking, digging, and poking. Finally, she pulled out a little box, like a mini treasure chest. On the curved top were the words, For: Minnie Jackson, a great friend. Minnie opened it, and inside were papers full of drawings, promises, hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes, mini stories, journal entries, secrets, ex. There were toys, art supplies, plastic jewels, books, notebooks, writing and coloring stuff, and other stuff including different colored pouches laid on a black, fuzzy bar with holes now and then for the pouches to rest on. There was 1 of each, a red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I wondered why it was just those specific colors. Was it randomly chosen? Was it their favorites? Was it the only ones they could find in the stores?

"It's every color of the rainbow," Minnie whispered, as if she was reading my mind.

I opened the red one, and there were medical supplies, band-aids, gauze for broken stuff, medical direction booklet, and other supplies. I closed the pouch by pulling these strings on the side, and saw one the front there was a white cross to symbolize medical care.

I carefully put it back on the rack, and pulled out the orange bag. It had stuff to help build a fire, and a booklet all about fires, everything you'd need to know. There were flint stones, sticks, regular pebbles to surround the fire, and other stuff. On the front it showed a picture of a fire (side view) that was surrounded by pebbles.

I carefully put the orange bag back, and got the yellow pouch. The yellow pouch had a sun on the front. I opened up the pouch, and there were sun block, sunglasses, a booklet about the sun and sunburn, and a treatment for sun-poison.

I put away the yellow bag, and got the green bag. There was a picture of the Earth in the shape of a small mouth, and another Earth next to it in the shape of a human. I opened that bag, and inside was food, meat, vegetables, small pots and pans, fruits, and other foods. It also had a booklet about the nutrition and how to properly prepare the food, making it healthy, and delicious.

I put that one away to, and opened the blue bag. It had a blue water droplet on the front. I opened it, and inside were water supplies, bottles, and a booklet about how important water is, and all about water and stuff.

I put it away, and got the last pouch, the purple pouch. Outside on the front of the bag was a question mark. I opened it, and it had all the other needs, and their booklets.

I put it away, and closed the chest, but Minnie stopped me before I got to properly close it. She grabbed 2 keys from the chest, 2 matching keys on matching, plain, yellow string. She handed me one, and wore one herself.

"The keys to open the chest," She said, and I slipped mine on. She closed the chest firmly, and locked it, double-checking that you can't just pull it open.

She grabbed the chest, handed it to me, and I put it in my bag.

We walked on, the sun slowly, but surely; rise above the mountains and plains.


	8. Chapter 8

We crept silently and hid behind anything taller than us, including trees, mountains, houses, piles of apples, and other stuff.

"Minnie," I whispered behind a huge apple tree.

"Yeah?" Minnie replied, looking at me from a branch she hugged that was 10 feet up in the air at the very least. She looked scared from the height, but she was well covered, big leafy leaves covering her small body.

"Do you know how long we've been traveling?" I asked.

"No, but one question," Minnie said.

"What?"

"Why are we hiding?"

"Because we might be seen by Grey Lady, Mrs. Jack, or Rick." I replied.

"What are the odds? And besides, we are hundreds of miles away from them. And who's Grey Lady?" Minnie asked.

I explained to her who Grey Lady was, and what she was like, and when I was done, her mouth hung wide open.

"She sounds worse than the orphanage and Rick combined!" Minnie exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," I muttered, and got out of hiding. "You're right, we're miles away."

Minnie cautiously got down from the tree, and we walked into town. We walked passed happy people laughing, walking, chatting, driving, trading, buying, selling, singing, playing, and advertising. The air was warm and sweet, and the town stretched on and on in every single possible direction.

"What are you good at?" I asked abruptly, and stopped walking.

"What?" Minnie asked, caught by surprise.

"What are you good at?" I repeated.

"Oh, um, I'm good at…" Minnie started. "Well, I guess…" Her voice trailed off. "Why?"

"Because, we need money, so we need jobs. Most of our food is gone, and we need to buy food now. What do people say your good at?" I asked.

"I'm home-schooled, I have no friends, and my dad never says anything about me." Minnie replied. "So I don't know. And for some reason, I can't tell if what I do is good or not."

I sighed. "What do you like doing?" I asked.

"Gardening, treating animals, being with animals, nature, art, dancing, singing, and story-telling…" Minnie continued the list, counting her fingers.

"Wait," I said, and Minnie stopped counting the endless amount of things she loved to do. "You don't need a job on second thought, you're pretty young. I'm good at animals; let's check out the horse stables. I love horses," I paused, and added, "Just let's hope I don't sleep there." Remembering the horses that neighed at the top of their lungs back at Grey Lady's house.

We wandered around town until we found a place that needed horses. We entered the little barn, and the smell of hay and horses fill the air. It was cozy, warm, but pretty dim. I walked over to a man slouching on the floor, but his head rested on the wall, his snores pretty loud. He had a grain of wheat in his mouth, chewing it, (or WAS chewing it,) his forehead covered with a little hat, shading his eyes from the dim lights, his blue-jean trousers covering his mucky white shirt was pretty torn, ripped, and faded. He had black boots, long nose, and a skinny, slender face. I nudged him gently a few times with my foot, but he just snored loudly, and then continue his normal snores.

"Sir. Sir. SIR!" I screamed, and he snapped awake, his little grain of in his mouth bobbed around, and his whole face now buried in his hat.

"Wha…wha?" He snorted, his voice pretty high pitch for a grown man.

"Um, I need a job." I replied, and Minnie made a disgusted face at the man.

"Oh, yes! Um, I think you can be Lila's trainee." The man said.

"What's a trainee?" I asked.

"A little assistant, someone who's unprofessional and is still training." The man said. "I'm Jub!" He stuck out a dirty, muddy, and mucky hand.

"Short for Jubilee!" A girl came out from the shadows. She had a whole ton of jewelry, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, anklets, rings, and she had a tattoo of a dragon on her left arm. "Hi, I'm Mae Morbidly." She, just like Jubilee, stuck out a hand.

I gratefully took Mae's hand, and shook it. "I'm a 'trainee' for Lila."

"Oh! Her! Yeah, she's a little grouchy, but other than that, she's perfectly fine! She won't bite!" Mae joked, and laughed a perfect bell laugh. I laughed along, and she pointed me to a door.

"Lila's that way," Mae said.

I thanked her, and left, Minnie following along. I opened the door, and a woman was in there, she had a matching tattoo that was just like Mae's, and she also had a lot of jewelry, her hair the same brown, her skin both light, her eyes the same blue, she was also skinny, but I realized the resemblance stopped there.

"Come in!" She said sounding annoyed.

I came in uneasily. "Hi, I'm your trainee." I said, and stuck out a hand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just make yourself useful!" She snapped.

Minnie stepped in from behind the shadows. "I'm Minnie, I'm also going to help you,"

I looked at her, stunned. She didn't sign up for this, she wasn't supposed to. "Um, yeah," I said. I decided to give it a go. "What do you need help with?"

"Can you help me stop Rambulus?" Lila pointed her head at the beautiful, black mare with the chocolate brown mane and tail. But she was jolting, running, and squirming around. "You can call her Ram." Lila huffed, and blew hair out of her face.

I ran over to Ram, and calmed her down with a trick that usually work. She started calming down quickly, and then stood still, waiting for orders.

Lila didn't say anything, but put on a saddle. "What's your name?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Lila Germane." She said, and then her eyes looked depressed when she said the last name, and her light blue eyes suddenly looked like a deep, dark, pit, and you just keep falling, and falling.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I snapped back to reality, tearing my eyes away from the pit.

"Nothing," Lila snapped.

"It was something," Minnie said.

"Nothing," Lila insisted.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"IT WAS NOTHING!" Lila screamed.

Minnie looked at me with questioning eyes.

"We better leave her alone." I whispered, and pat her hair.

Minnie looked down at the dirt floor, and we help Lila with the horses. We fed them, groomed them, took care of them, but we all worked in silence. Even the horses were quiet.

"Can we ride them?" I asked.

"NO!" Lila said so suddenly we jumped back, and then spoke in a less menacing way. "Not until your ready!"

For some reason, I felt that when she said it, she wouldn't let us ride them, ever.


	9. Chapter 9

Our session with Lila was over for about an hour and a half because of a little lunch. Lila ignored us at the beginning lunch as we just sat there, bellies empty with no food in front of us. I actually was so desperate for food that I'd eat Beans 'n' Sugar and actually enjoy it, but I didn't show it. But I didn't have to suffer any longer. Lila was eyeing us from a distant, and came over.

"Here, but don't expect to much from me." She huffed, and broke her uneaten sandwich into halves, and gave one half to me, and the other to Minnie.

"Are you sure you won't eat lunch yourself?" I asked, giving her back her sandwich. I was desperate, but I wasn't going to take food from someone who won't have anything themselves.

"I'm sure," Lila replied stubbornly, shoving back the sandwich.

"No," I said firmly, and ripped my half into smaller halves, and put one small half into Lila's hands.

Lila looked down, and started to give it back, but this time,_ I_ shoved it back stubbornly.

"Take it or I won't eat anything." I said, and turned away so she couldn't stuff anything in my hands.

"Alright," Lila said, sounding kind of annoyed, and when I turned back, I saw that she had a hard time suppressing a smile.

"Take half of mine to!" Minnie piped up, and gave half of her half to Lila.

"Thanks," Lila said, and she smiled, no longer able to keep it back, and turned and walked back to her original seat.

I think that was the time where I started to warm up to Lila, during lunch, when we were both stubbornly giving each other halves of a sandwich.

"I like Lila," Minnie said, breaking the silence, but unlike the other silences I had before, this is one that was a happy, and light silence.

"So do I," I said, ruffling her hair.

"I like this place," Minnie giggled.

"So do I," I said again.

"She reminds me of my ma," Minnie smiled.

"She reminds me of mine, too." I said, taking a bite out of the sandwich.

"She's pretty giving, and I guess she was just sorry for us," Minnie said.

"I don't think she only did that for those reasons," I said. "I think she liked us,"

"Really?" Minnie said sounding amazed.

"I think so," I replied, biting into my sandwich. "This stuff is good!"

"I know!" Minnie said with a mouth full.

I suddenly was struck with another thought, a really good one, but I doubted it. It seemed to good to be true.

"I think Lila may be the last bird to take me back up my rainbow," I said slowly.

"What?" Minnie asked, clearly confused.

I explained to her about how my ma always compared life with rainbows, those being her favorite things, next to family and friends.

"Oh!" Minnie said, catching on. "You'd really think so?"

"Yes, I mean no, well, yes, but no, but, kinda." I said. "It seems to good to be true, but it may be her."

"Yeah," Minnie agreed, swallowing her bite of the sandwich. "She may be, but don't get your hopes up to high."

"Agreed," I replied, and took the last bite out of my sandwich, and a few seconds later, (after teasing me with it,) Minnie also finished hers.

There was another light silence, and it was me who broke it this time.

"Do you think Lila would let us ride the horses now?" I asked.

"I don't know, but don't get your hopes to high, and then let it fall and shatter." Minnie warned.

"Like my rainbow shattered," I said.

"You said your rainbow didn't shatter, but you jumped off!" Minnie corrected.

"Yeah, you get my point," I said, waving the statement away.

We all paused, and looked at the time, and we slowly got up, and realized our lunch break was over, and head back to the stalls with Lila.

We got into the stalls almost at the exact same time as Lila, and Minnie and I took a deep breath, smelling the different smells of fresh hay, some manure, and the beautiful smell of horses all mixed up together, and we started to work.

Lila acted like the lunch break never happened. "Hand me the brush," She'd huff, or, "Feed her," or, "Bathe her," or, "Give her some water."

Lila's commands went on endlessly, and so did our work. We just worked, and worked, and worked. But I had to give Minnie credit, she wasn't groaning, complaining, whining, or even showing the slightest clue that she wasn't enjoying this. She just work quickly, flawlessly, and smoothly. I bet you I looked like a crazy klutz compared to her. I was pretty good, maybe great, but I wasn't as quick, or flawless, or smoothly. It seemed like Minnie had been doing this all her life!

"Did you ever tend horses before?" I asked.

"Once, yeah." Minnie replied, but then became silent, daydreaming most likely.

"What was it like?" I asked, and she snapped back awake.

"I used to work for someone named Mr. Oak, and he was fairly alright. I just tended the horses, and that's it. We didn't start any conversations; he just sat there, working a little less than me. Whenever I'm to slow for his taste, or I have some flaw, or I trip, and fall, and drop things, and am not working smoothly, he'd beat me with that horrible leather belt that dad owns right now. Mr. Oak gave it to him later on. His beatings were worse than dad's, and I usually leave with really bad cuts, bruises, black eyes, and the occasional broken bones. He never felt sorry, and always growled at me like I was a dumb lion who always trespasses into his property and damages it. He didn't seem to understand I had feelings, that I felt like a nothing, I'm worthless, and when I'm done, I'd always get only 40 cents for the hours and hours working, and I count them as I return to my cardboard house. And at night, the chilly air always gets to me, and the cardboard sucks in some of my heat, leaving me shivering, and I'd look up into the sky, for there was a square hole that was on my 'roof' with a thin sheet of plastic that acted like a window, and I'd look up, and most nights I will believe I'm worthless and dumb. Only some nights I'd sleep for a good 8 hours, others I can only sleep 1 hour, and wake up again, and think about myself, how dumb I was, how worthless, and useless I was." Minnie stopped, and tears started dotting her eyes. I noticed Lila was listening the whole time, and she had a look of sympathy in her eyes. Even the horses stopped neighing to listen closely.

"I don't know how I lived, for days gone by when I didn't eat, weeks rushed on when I don't get to much sleep, and I always think, always, and think hard about what Mr. Oak always said to me. I always believed them, for I never felt love in my life, so I thought he may be the best person alive, that others are much, much worse. I never felt this thing that people talked about, 'fun', and I had no friends. I was constantly picked on by everyone, even the nice kids. I was no one but a loser, and dumb loser who was alone forever, never loved, and has no talents. Mr. Oak never cared, even though he was like my only father, where mine died because of murder along with my mom, and I was only 1, and I now had Mr. Oak as my father, he never did anything. All I did all day was to tend the horses, I wasn't allowed to actually touch them tough, or ride them, just feed, groom, water, and bathe. When I bathe I have to be careful to not touch them, but just with a sponge. If I ever touched them at all, I'd be punished."

There was a still silence, and everyone knew what we were all thinking. Even Lila was thinking hard, and we knew what she was thinking. We were all thinking of Mr. Oak, Poisonous Oak was more like it! That dumb Poisonous Oak, always careless, always violent, along with Minnie's classmates, they were also horrible, totally horrible. We were all think of that.

Minnie sighed, and continued working, and the silence lifted by the sound of our working, and walking. The horses started neighing again, and everything went back to the way it was before Minnie told us her story. Everything except what was going on in our minds.

"Holy cow," I muttered. "I didn't know life could be THAT harsh."


End file.
